I would assemble them the hight before.
And the night before that, make your sauce.
I am no good on giving you a "recipe for sauce, but I start with chopped onion and green pepper and add garlic, sautee and add canned chopped tomatoes,,,,and for each can add a can of contidina tomato paste ( no other brand will do!)....and oregano, lots of parsley, couple of bay leaves, oregano and basil to taste, simmer a long time.....add about a cup of dry red wine and simmer longer then taste and correct seasonings.
For the meat lasagna...sautee greound beef and Italian sausage with a few ladles of the sauce and use this for the meat layer in the meat version.
For the cheese mix 16 oz ricotta with 3 eggs, about 2 or 3 T chopped parsley, 2 oz grated mozzerella and 2 heaping tablespoons of grated parm ( fresh not the box!)
Layer it, cover and refrigerate over night.
Then bake and take in the morning....
Don't use those disposable aluminum things...
If you have no good big roasting pan, make it in a9 by 13 pyrex pan....and make 2 of them.
Make sauce to 4 28 oz cans of tomatoes
Brown 2 pounds of meat ( for one lasagna....thinking the other will be veggie only)
And have 2 pounds of ricotta.
And 3 pounds of noodles....which will be too much....but noodles are cheap!
Good luck!
Linda C

Thanks Linda! Looks great, as always.

What's the rap on the disposable pans? I only have one 9x13 casserole pan, and it's relatively low-sided. I'm not sure how I would slip one batch of cooked lasagna out, and put another in to bake.

I had one develop a leak.....and it was a huge mess....I mean HUGE....so I make it a practise never to use one for anything "juicy". And I thought I was being so smart making ahead and freezing lasagna for my kids visit! NOT!
I did go to the Salvation Army thrift store and buy an old dented but heavy aluminum cake pan....and used that for a lasagna to take to a church pot luck....and I didn't bother to bring it home! LOL!
A new 9 by 13 will cost you about $8 at Wal-Mart....go for it....you will surely use it again.
Or borrow one.
Linda c

Wal-mart also has 11x15 pans. I had two until I dropped them on my tile floor. I miss them.
Lisa

Just food for thought: I know the ricotta mixture is supposed to include eggs, but a lot of vegetarians don't eat eggs. My son is vegetarian, and doesn't eat eggs, and I just do the cheese layer with straight ricotta cheese, then sprinkle on some mozzarella. I just use a regular meatless red sauce. You could possibly add some veggies like zucchini into the sauce mixture.

For my vegetarian lasagne, I use a cheese bechamel instead of ricotta, and the tomato-based red sauce has lots of finely chopped/grated veggies- carrots, capsicum, celery, zucchini, mushrooms, whatever looks good, all simmered together. It was very popular at the restaurant I used to cook for.

When I make lasagne, I make it for the cheese! I like a little bit of meat but I don't make a meat sauce. I either add sliced meatballs or crumbled browned/drained Italian sausage to the layers. Not too much meat. I just made some lasagna the other day and looked through some of my recipes/cookbooks to remember how to do the layers. In Lidia Bastianich's recipe for Italian-American lasagne she puts the ricotta/cheese/parsley/egg mixture in one entire layer sandwiched between the noodles. Underneath are noodles/sauce/meat/mozzarella and on top the same.

I loved it! A nice, generous thick layer of the ricotta. You don't have to go looking for it. That's why I eat lasagne LOL!

seagrass

Here are three tried and true recipes from this forum. A meat lasagnas, a chicken lasagna and a veggie lasagna. All three are delish!

Save yourself the headache of cooking the noodles and buy a good quality "no cook" noodle.

A 9 X 13 will give you 9 3" X 4" squares. If you make different kinds you can cut the squares smaller and people will try some of each.

Regardless I think you need at least two 9 X 13 pans for 15 people.....me, being me, would do 3! Leftovers are a good thing, running short is a nightmare! LOL

Joey's Killer Lasagna

1 medium onion -- chopped
3 Tbl olive oil
1/2 Lb ground beef
1/2 Lb Italian sausage -- casings removed and
broken up
1/2 Lb ground veal
2 Clove garlic -- minced
4 ounces mushrooms -- chopped
15 ounces tomato sauce
12 ounces tomato paste
1/2 Cup dry red wine
1/2 Cup water
1 Tsp oregano -- leaves
1 Tsp basil crushed
1 Tsp salt
1/2 Tsp pepper
1/2 Tsp sugar
8 ounces mozzarella cheese -- thinly sliced
1 Lb Ricotta cheese
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese
12 ounces lasagna noodles

Saute the chopped onion in the olive oil. Add and cook the ground meats, starting with the sausage, then the beef, then the veal.~

Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook. Drain.

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, water, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours.

Cook the lasagna noodles while sauce is simmering. Use 10 to 16 pieces depending on the width of the noodles. Drain, rinse, drain again.

Butter a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.~

Cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer of the sauce. Layer: 1/3 of the noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the Ricotta cheese (in dollops), 1/3 of the Mozzarella. Repeat twice more. Cover with the Parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until bubbly.

ALasagna Veggie - Ohiomom

16 Ozpackage of lasagna
2 Tblolive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 large Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
2 Cup fresh spinach
2 1/2 Cup portabello mushrooms sliced
4 Tbl butter
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 Cup white sauce
1 Cupgrated monterey jack cheese
1 Cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper

White Sauce:
3 Cup of milk heated
4 Tbl butter
4 Tbl all purpose flour
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, stirring until blended, about one minute. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with whisk. Continue to whisk over low heat until sauce is smooth and slightly thick. Add parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste, stir for
two minutes more. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in skillet and saute onion. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt & pepper.
Set aside.
Cook spinach in 1 cup of boiling water until wilted. Pour into strainer, press gently with wooden spoon to remove liquid.
Stir spinach into tomato mixture.~

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter in skillet and add mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms start to exude their juice, add garlic. Cook the mushroom mixture until all the liquids evaporate and mushrooms start to brown. Set aside.
Mix the cheddar and monterey jack cheeses together.~
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook lasagna noodles for about 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Lightly butter the bottom of shallow baking dish.~
Pour about 1/2 cup of white sauce in bottom and arrange a layer of pasta.Cover with half mushroom mixture. Drizzle with white sauce. Sprinkle with a little cheese.~

Make another layer of pasta, spread with half of the tomato mixture. Drizzle with white sauce. Sprinkle with a little cheese.
Repeat layers in same order. Top with a layer of pasta, remainder of white sauce and cheese.

Chicken Lasagne (Scott)

9 Lasagna Noodles
1/4 Cup butter/margarine
8 Oz cups sliced fresh mushrooms
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tsp lemon juice
1/4 Cup flour
2 Cup milk
2 whole chicken breasts or equivalent poached and cubed
1 Cup of the liquid you cooked the chicken in
1/2 Cup chopped fresh parsley
15 Oz carton ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 Cup chopped fresh broccoli
8 Oz cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Cook lasagne noodles, drain and rinse in hot water.~

In large saucepan, melt butter, add mushrooms, garlic salt and lemon juice. Saute mushrooms unitl tender, about 5 minutes. Add flour; blend well. Add milk and chicken juice; cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and 1/3 cup parsley.~

Heat oven to 325.

Mix Ricotta and parmesan cheese with beaten eggs. Layer 1/3 each noodles, ricotta mixture, mozzarella, sauce and broccoli (for the top layer I do the broccoli then the mozzarella on top). Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.~

You don't even have to buy "no cook" noodles. I use the regular noodles and put a little extra water around the edges of the pan after assembling the lasagna. Letting it sit overnight is also good, but not necessary. The next day, if it looks a little dry, add a little water around the sides or a little thin tomato sauce.
Lisa

Im laughing because a 9x13 pan of lasagna is SNACK in this house LOL!!! I actually use a party steamer tray at the holdiay for christmas dinner and we never have a sliver left. DH is a spoiled Italian guy who loves the little baby meatballs in his lasagna so i roll at least 150 baby meatballs the size of a dime just to layer into the ricoota mixture.